Nature of Time

Catalog description

This course will thoroughly investigate some of the most interesting topics in contemporary physics— the arrow of time, irreversibility, quantum mechanics, cosmology—through the lens of big questions. This class is accessible to non-physics majors—indeed, to those with minimal technical background at all—and will focus on the concepts, exploring the key ideas with almost no math. At the same time, we will mix in ideas from philosophy, history, and art that also bear on these questions. This will make the course relevant and exciting both for those who feel a strong affinity with the arts and humanities as well as for those for whom science resonates more. This course affords students the ability to critically examine and evaluate the principles of the scientific method, model construction, and use the scientific method to explain natural experiences and phenomena.